This wouldn’t be the trade deadline without the Yankees grabbing the headlines.

ESPN’s Tim Kurkjian is reporting that a source said “someone who should know told me that the Yankees are all over Ubaldo Jimenez.”

Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com reported this morning that the Yankees were hearing the Rockies may be willing to lower their asking price, though Troy Renck of the Denver Postadds that they have little incentive to lower their demands since they don’t have to move him. Jimenez is locked up through 2014 on a very reasonable contract.

Joel Sherman of the New York Postreported earlier this week that the Rockies would be amenable to a deal if they received three of Manny Banuelos, Dellin Betances, Jesus Montero and Ivan Nova from the Bombers. Banuelos is believed to be untouchable while Jack Curry of YES Network hears that the Yankees are insistent that they won’t give up three elite prospects in return for Jimenez.

My dream was that the Phillies would have been able to pry Matt Kemp from the Dodgers. I wonder if they could have sent a package with Cosart/Singleton/May/Valle to the Rockies for Jimenez, then package him to the Dodgers for Matt Kemp? A rotation with Kershaw/Jimenez as 1 and 1a would be pretty formidable…almost Phillies-esque… except MUCH younger and MUCH cheaper for the next 3 years.

According to Heyman, The Rockies want a first basemam, a catcher and a pitcher. The Jays could offer a package composed of Triple A first baseman David Cooper (9 HR, 78 RBI, .372 BA, .577 Slug) plus Double A catcher Travis d’Arnaud (13 HR, 47 RBI, .318 BA and .535 Slug) plus Double A starter Joel Carreno (3.45 and 136 K in 114 IP) or Double A startetr Henderson Alvarez (2.84 but only 55 K in 76 IP) In other words, Totonto does match up quite well with Colorado’s wants.

I don’t know about this- Jiminez has one outstanding half-season in his career. If they don’t have to give up too much, I’m with it, but 3 or 4 top prospects seems like a lot for a guy who’s hasn’t shown consistant dominance.

last three years, ~560IP we’ve seen:
FIP: 3.36, 3.10 and 3.48
xFIP: 3.59, 3.60 and 3.49

He’s been a really consistent pitcher as far as peripherals go, I’d be worried about two things:
a) he’s relatively cheap, so why are the Rockies in a rush to move him?
b) Fastball velocity is down over 2mph from his career average. Is he hurt?

I hope the Yankees don’t trade any of these future stars for Ubaldo. Manny Banuelos, Dellin Betances, Jesus Montero or Ivan Nova. I don’t want them to mortgage the future. If they have to trade then only trade one of them.

While a stocked farm system can be essential for a baseball organization, for the Yankees they often stock up on free agents with their high payroll. They need another good starter and even though Jimenez is not nearly the same player he was in the first half of last season, the Yankees front office has to make a splash like it usually does to show its fans it is doing everything possible to improve the ball club.

Brian Cashman is notorious for making these big deals in the offseason and near the trade deadline, so I think the Bronx Bombers have no other option than to make a move. There isn’t a lot they can do to improve upon their offense, considering the power they currently have, however, with Rivera eliminating the 9th inning, having a pitcher who can consistently work 7-8 innings is vital if the Yankees want to beat the Red Sox/Rangers/Phillies in the playoffs.